From sport to bridging

From sport to bridging




When a professional sportsman or sportswoman retires, one typically expects them to turn to coaching or punditry. .

When a professional sportsman or sportswoman retires, one typically expects them to turn to coaching or punditry.

However, a growing number of them are looking at the property sector and a few have even gone into bridging.

In an era of mega wages, especially for footballers, many have plenty of money but little to spend it on – and real estate is certainly one area that is benefiting from their spare cash.

So, the Weekender has tracked down five former sportsmen who have made the move.

1.    Paul Elliot
 

Paul Elliott receiving his CBE

The former captain of Chelsea moved from Stamford Bridge into bridging loans when he partnered up with Central Bridging in July.

Paul got together with John Clifford of Central Bridging to form Stratton Funding, which is aiming to create a bespoke platform for both investors and borrowers.

Since retiring from football, Paul has thrown himself into a number of projects, including the anti-racism campaign Kick It Out.

In 2012, he received a CBE for his services to equality and diversity in football.


2.    Ugo Ehiogu
 


Former Villa defender Ugo Ehigou

Ugo was the first signing announced by the newly formed Stratton Funding, when he joined fellow defender Paul in the world of bridging.

The former Aston Villa and England player joined Stratton’s board as a non-executive director whilst retaining his position as coach of Tottenham Hotspur’s youth teams.

Ugo became interested in property after retiring from the game, and in the last 5 years has made a number of investments with Central Bridging.

The defender also founded his own successful record label ‘Dirty Hit’ in 2009.

3.     John Lukic

 
John Lukic of Leeds and Arsenal

The former Arsenal and Leeds shot-stopper joined Ortus Secured Finance as a business development manager in 2014.

The Chesterfield-born goalkeeper retired from football at the age of 40, and because he’d been involved in a number of business ventures over the years, turned his attention to the alternative finance market.

John told Weekender that his motivating mantra is, “Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.”

John was part of the Ortus team which was named Best Bridging Newcomer at the B&C Awards in 2014.

4.    Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs

Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are now well established in their respective roles as a pundit on Sky Sports and Louis Van Gaal’s right-hand man at Old Trafford.

However, the former Manchester United duo have also taken big steps in the property market with Gary acquiring a Manchester office for his property business, Zerum.

Gary and Ryan are also part of the team which built Hotel Football opposite Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.

In February, they secured planning consent for another hotel in the centre of the city.

As well as offering his thoughts on football, Gary is a regular speaker at prestigious property events.

5.    Robbie Fowler

The Liverpool goal-scoring hero of the mid-90s launched a property academy for aspiring developers in June this year.

During his career, Robbie built up an extensive property portfolio and is keen to pass on that knowledge to aspiring developers.

Two years ago, The Robbie Fowler Property Academy joined forces with financial educators Tigrent Learning to offer investors the chance to build a property portfolio.

To date, Tigrent has educated more than 100,000 people across the UK and Ireland and has over 60 full-time property investors.

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